Ireland requires up to 80,000 additional workers to address “significant” infrastructure deficits across housing, healthcare, transport, and electricity sectors, according to a stark new report from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC).
The independent watchdog has identified these four areas as major challenges facing the country, with housing and home retrofitting accounting for the bulk of required workforce expansion. However, the report suggests that improving construction sector productivity could dramatically reduce the needed workers to less than 20,000.
Lead author Niall Conroy emphasized that these deficits are “long-standing issues which cannot be resolved overnight,” noting that while Ireland’s infrastructure gap with other high-income European countries has narrowed from 47% per person in 1995 to 25% today, significant challenges remain.
IFAC highlighted the “slow and unpredictable nature” of Ireland’s planning system as a key factor in delayed infrastructure delivery and increased costs. While the council acknowledges Ireland’s high public investment relative to its economy, it stresses the need for better value for money and sustained commitment.
According to The Journal, the watchdog has stopped short of endorsing the government’s new planning and development laws, stating that “time will tell” whether these reforms will succeed in addressing the country’s infrastructure weaknesses.